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few - 5 dictionary results

few

  [fyoo] adjective, -er, -est, noun, pronoun
Use few in a Sentence
–adjective
1. not many but more than one: Few artists live luxuriously.
–noun
2. (used with a plural verb) a small number or amount: Send me a few.
3. the few, a special, limited number; the minority: That music appeals to the few.
–pronoun
4. (used with a plural verb) a small number of persons or things: A dozen people volunteered, but few have shown up.
—Idioms
5. few and far between, at widely separated intervals; infrequent: In Nevada the towns are few and far between.
6. quite a few, a fairly large number; many: There were quite a few interesting things to do.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME fewe, OE fēawe; c. Goth fawai; akin to L paucus few, paulus little, pauper poor, Gk paûros little, few
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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few   (fyōō)   
adj.   few·er, few·est
  1. Amounting to or consisting of a small number: one of my few bad habits.
  2. Being more than one but indefinitely small in number: bowled a few strings.
n.   (used with a pl. verb)
  1. An indefinitely small number of persons or things: A few of the books have torn jackets.
  2. An exclusive or limited number: the discerning few; the fortunate few.
pron.   (used with a pl. verb)
A small number of persons or things: "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).

[Middle English fewe, from Old English fēawe; see pau-1 in Indo-European roots.]
few'ness n.
Usage Note: The traditional rule holds that fewer should be used for things that can be counted (fewer than four players), while less should be used with mass terms for things of measurable extent (less paper; less than a gallon of paint). However, less is used in some constructions where fewer would occur if the traditional rule were being followed. Less than can be used before a plural noun that denotes a measure of time, amount, or distance: less than three weeks; less than $400; less than 50 miles. Less is sometimes used with plural nouns in the expressions no less than (as in No less than 30 of his colleagues signed the letter) and or less (as in Give your reasons in 25 words or less).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Few

Few\ (f[=u]), a. [Compar. Fewer; superl. Fewest.] [OE. fewe, feawe, AS. fe['a], pl. fe['a]we; akin to OS. f[=a]h, OHG. f[=o] fao, Icel. f[=a]r, Sw. f[*a], pl., Dan. faa, pl., Goth. faus, L. paucus, cf. Gr. pay^ros. Cf. Paucity.] Not many; small, limited, or confined in number; -- indicating a small portion of units or individuals constituing a whole; often, by ellipsis of a noun, a few people. "Are not my days few?" --Job x. 20.

Few know and fewer care. --Proverb.

Note: Few is often used partitively; as, few of them.

A few, a small number.

In few, in a few words; briefly. --Shak.

No few, not few; more than a few; many. --Cowper.

The few, the minority; -- opposed to the many or the majority.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : few
Spanish: pocos,
German: wenige,
Japanese: ほとんどない
More Translations »

few  (adj.)
O.E. feawe (contracted to fea), from Gmc. *faw- (cf. O.N. far, Dan. faa, O.Fris. fe, O.H.G. foh "little," Goth. fawai "few"), from PIE *pau- "smallness" (cf. L. paucus "few, little," paullus "little," pauper "poor;" Gk. pauros "few, little," pais (gen. paidos) "child;" L. puer "child, boy," pullus "young animal;" Oscan puklu "child;" Skt. potah "a young animal," putrah "son;" O.C.S. puta "bird;" Lith. putytis "young animal, young bird"). Always plural in O.E. Phrase few and far between attested from 1668. Unusual ironic use in quite a few "many" (1883), earlier a good few (1828).
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." [Winston Churchill, 1940]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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few

In addition to the idioms beginning with few, also see a few; bricks shy of a load, (a few); of few words; precious few; quite a bit (few).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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